My passion is food and farming, which is how a person who doesn’t come from a farming background ended up starting Free Range Dairy Network with fellow Director Neil Darwent. To me, food and farming touches on every part of life. How we survive, how the planet survives, animal welfare, our culture, social justice, access…
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Earlier this week Sir David Attenborough warned in BBC News interview that “The moment of crisis has come”. According to the BBC Sir David was highlighting that whilst climate scientists are calling for a rapid response to climate change, international negotiations are slow to deliver any real plans for action. I begin to think we…
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It was the opening day of the Oxford Farming Conference yesterday and I was there for one of the first sessions called ‘Diversity, inclusion and combating polarisation.’ It was talking about how sexism, racism and homophobia makes part of our communities feel they can’t be part of farming, and what new and innovative ways of…
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Despite a plethora of aids to modern life, it seems we are all busier than ever these days. We become so preoccupied with what we have to do that we don’t take enough time to think about why we are doing it. But, taking a little time to think about why we do what we…
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Christmas time is always a great time to share a Christmas message from our farmers. As we go from 2019 into a new decade, Jenni Hobbs, looks back over the years Another year – and 2019 didn’t disappoint. Here in the Gloucestershire Severn vales the cows have continued to enjoy fresh, grazed grass but…
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It’s been another good year for Free Range Dairy Network; sales of Pasture Promise free range milk continue to grow and we have welcomed new farmers to the fold. But, milk (and meat) has taken a real bashing in 2019 and many farmers have been left wondering why they are being blamed for everything that’s wrong…
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A DERFA survey back in 2013 found that the average age of farmers in the UK was 59, at that time. No doubt that age has crept up a bit since then. But dairy farming is changing and a new generation of young farmers, are bringing new ideas, mixing tradition with new technology and connecting…
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The Independent newspaper did a roundup of all the manifestos of political parties, rating them on their commitment to animal welfare. For the first time, climate and nature were also on the agenda as Party Leaders recognised these issues as vote winners. The general public in the UK are saying the environment is one of…
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Free Range Dairy Network is looking for Tree Angels to help us count trees on farms, help with maintenance and we can provide space to plant trees and hedges.
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A DERFA survey back in 2013 found that the average age of farmers in the UK was 59, at that time. No doubt that age has crept up a bit since then. But dairy farming is changing and a new generation of young farmers, are bringing new ideas, mixing tradition with new technology and connecting…
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Recent news of the closure of Tomlinson’s Dairies, in North Wales, has led to growing concerns about the future of the liquid milk market in the UK. Until a few weeks ago, the dairy business based in Wrexham collected milk from around 80 farmers, 44 of whom were on aligned contracts to supply Sainsbury’s supermarkets…
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At this year’s Welsh Dairy Show, on October 29th, Free Range Dairy Network (FRD) will be launching a new collaboration with Welsh dairy farmer Nick Roch, to win badly needed recognition and value for ‘free range milk’, produced on dairy farms in Wales. According to data from the Food Standards Agency (FSA), 50 dairy farmers…
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The launch of our new website (which I hope you approve of by the way) has prompted me to reflect on how far Free Range Dairy Network has come since the original website was first launched in 2011. Back then free range milk was just an idea in my head, born out of frustration with the…
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Lunch is a 2 day trade show for café, coffee shop and the food to go sector. This year there was a common theme running it through it I’ve never seen before and that was sustainability. From how they source their ingredients, to food waste and energy usage, even to the packaging, everyone was talking…
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490 million litres of milk is thrown away each year. What a waste! Not just in terms of the cost to shoppers, but also for the cows that spend their lives producing this great food, our natural resources and the environment. A UN Report in 2015 estimates the population will grow to just under 10…
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I often think that as someone who has been so closely engaged with farming and nature all of my life, I have a really good connection with food and I understand how important simple, honest food is in making this world a better place. However, a recent experience taught me that food is about so…
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This was a question someone posed in a recent article in Forbes magazine. The writer was fascinated by a video of a cow using a mechanic brush, grooming herself and having a good scratch at the same time. ‘Today’s consumers and especially many young consumers have a desire to know more about the products they…
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What does sustainability mean to you? Is it all about climate change and saving the planet? There are numerous definitions of sustainability to be found these days, but I like this one I came across on Investopedia.com that says “Sustainability focuses on meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations…
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It’s two years ago today Asda became the first major retailer to stock free range dairy milk under the Pasture Promise logo. Here’s Rob, one of the farmers you see on the label telling us how Asda is helping to make a difference for farmers and cows. It’s now been two years since Asda took…
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Summary Last year we started a Coffee and Cows campaign off the back of a new YouGov Poll looking at Coffee Shop Milk to find out if customers care as much about where coffee shops source their milk as their beans? The poll found that 84% of people care as much about where they source…
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